


When The Storm Blows Over (I'll Be One With You)

by SunsetScomiche



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Explorations of Guilt, Introspection, M/M, Meta, Regrets, Science Bros, Storms, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, my works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-12-25 21:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12044829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunsetScomiche/pseuds/SunsetScomiche
Summary: An exploration of how Tony tries to understand Bruce, while Bruce tries to understand himself as the Hulk.





	When The Storm Blows Over (I'll Be One With You)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! I can't believe it! I'm finally back on AO3! :D 
> 
> I'm just posting some of my finished works here first, but now that I'm in, I'll be getting to work on some new fics, too! I also can't wait to bookmark all of my favorites here, and especially to interact with all of you! 
> 
> Happy reading! :)

The storm comes unexpectedly, as Bruce lies in bed and ponders things, as he sometimes does.

He listens to it, how it starts soft and unassuming, then grows and gurgles until a monster looms in the sky.

It's nights like this that remind him of being on the run. Then, some of his nights had been spent in jungles, lying on his back as he listened to the storms pass. In his memory, those were some of his most healing nights.

The door opens just a sliver, and Bruce watches and smiles slightly as Tony creeps in, all silk pajamas and exhaustion. And rightly so, if his log of sixteen straight hours in the lab is anything to go by. He himself, of course, seems no worse for the wear.

"Ugh. It's storming. How do you sleep in that?" Tony points an accusing finger over at the window, which J.A.R.V.I.S. has mostly covered with paneled shades at this hour of the night, as he slips softly into bed.

Bruce notices despite himself that Tony's voice is softer than usual, and wonders whether he had chosen that or if it's from the sleep deprivation.

"I find it very calming," Bruce says as he stretches an arm out and welcomes Tony into it.

"Why," Tony asks him, perplexed.

Bruce thinks about it for a moment.

It's a lifting, serene experience. He feels peaceful. At times, he almost feels as if the world is spacious again.

For too long, Earth hadn't had room for the Hulk. In some ways, Thor had understood that, and had accepted him. But this wasn't Thor's thunder, wasn't his storm.

Bruce turns toward Tony, his hands laid limply against his chest. He feels one of Tony's fingers slip gently underneath his, smooth and warm, and he smiles.

The lightning flashes then, just barely grazing in over the dark curtains.

"When I was young," he says, "I used to listen to thunderstorms outside my house. I loved how quiet and intense they were. I could listen to that for hours. It's not like the lighting of Thor, all _crack, crash,_ and _boom!_ It washes over you, calms you, and it settles there, not afraid to just be what it is."

Tony is quiet then. He understands how Bruce can benefit from that. He thinks, and then he finds himself ready to ask the hard question.

"Do you... Think you'll ever trust him?"

Just then, a low rumble creaks through the skies. Bruce tries not to consider the symbolic implications.

"I... I don't know," Bruce answers him after a moment. He sounds all hollow and deep, Tony thinks briefly, like a tree trunk with too many years and no way to end them alone.

He sighs. Then he quiets when the air outside changes, and he listens.

There's a noise in the sky like ripping. Tony would know those noises anywhere, the sound of machinery forcing its way through the sky. A jet is flying nearby. As it passes, Tony considers his own internal battles.

"I don't..." He glances at Bruce for a moment. "I don't think I'll ever know what it's like to have a clean sky."

Bruce turns his head, stares at Tony head-on like he needs an explanation.

"My tech... My _weapons_ were used for murder... of innocent people." Tony stares at the ceiling then, one arm tucked underneath his head. "I'll never be able to wash that off my hands. No matter what I do."

Bruce looks away, thinks about all of the people he may have hurt, all of the lives he might have damaged, as the Hulk. The lives he doesn't remember, the ones he can't seem to forget. They burn in ways he can't explain. He tries to tell Tony anyway.

"I- I _have_ to _believe_ that what I do, in each moment, helps other people."

Tony smiles a bit. He knows Bruce is trying to help him by saying something encouraging. The thing is, Tony stopped believing in positive self-talk when it comes to his own regrets years ago.

"That's not so much the issue, for me." He looks down at the floor, presses his lips together, and considers his choice of words.

"There will never be a world without Tony Stark's name stamped on it."

Bruce is silent for a moment. Then, he says, quietly, "I think that's okay."

Tony doesn't reply.

Soon, the storm passes as quietly as it came. Bruce is slowly drifting off as Tony lies in bed beside him, thinking. Yeah, it's okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading. Visit [my tumblr](https://sunsetscomiche.tumblr.com/) (@sunsetscomiche) for more Tony/Bruce, and other hopeless shenanigans.


End file.
